UK PM Rishi Sunak's strategy: Paint Keir Starmer as 'Captain Hindsight' to forge ahead in 2024 polls

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rise of AI, the people said. To that end, Sunak and his top political aides have been focused on crafting bolder policy proposals to roll out in the coming weeks, designed to present a forward-looking vision for voters. The hope is that the strategy will reinforce a common criticism of Starmer, that he’s cautious and uninspiring, and chip away at Labour’s roughly 20-point lead in the polls.

Sunak’s aides have drawn encouragement from the analysis of James Johnson, co-founder of pollster JL Partners, who has seen negative views of Starmer come up in focus groups of key voters in recent weeks. “Two factors mean that, though it is clearly Advantage Labour at the moment, the next election is still up for grabs," said Johnson, a former aide to ex-premier Theresa May. “One, the extreme volatility of the electorate, which is more likely to change its mind than ever before.

Two, the fact that Starmer is still viewed miserably by the swing voters that matter most." This requires a strategic shift by Sunak’s team, who had largely seen their job as mitigating the scale of an inevitable defeat since taking over after former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s brief and chaotic tenure almost a year ago. Since then, Sunak has largely stuck to his so-called five pledges — including halving inflation and growing the economy — and resisted calls for a broader vision. Now, some inside No.

10 are arguing that they need a bigger strategy to win. One official said they were clear-eyed that the odds favored Labour, but argued that the realm of possibility included a surprise victory and not just a respectable loss. The challenge with this blue-skies plan is that assumes it can counteract the electorate’s desire for change after 13 years of